Livestock facility equipment network

Abstract

An expandable livestock facility equipment network over which data is received from various automated pieces of equipment or monitors, and utilized by a control unit to provide an overall indication of the status of the livestock facility, including feed supply management, animal health conditions, and equipment operational conditions.

1 . A livestock facility equipment network, comprising: 
 a data communications network;    a plurality of monitoring components, each associated with at least one monitored livestock facility device, operatively coupled to said data communications network, said monitoring components each configured to generate data associated with at least one of said monitored livestock facility devices for communication over said data communications network;    a control component operatively coupled to said data communications network, said control component configured to receive data associated with each of said monitored livestock facility devices over said data communications network, and to utilize said received data to generate at least one indication of a status of a livestock facility incorporating said plurality of monitored livestock facility devices.    
   
   
       2 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein at least one of said plurality of monitoring components is a water flow meter.  
   
   
       3 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 2  wherein said associated monitored livestock facility device is a livestock drinking water dispenser.  
   
   
       4 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein at least one of said plurality of monitoring components is an electrical current sensor.  
   
   
       5 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 4  wherein said associated monitored livestock facility device is an auger associated with a livestock feed delivery mechanism.  
   
   
       6 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein at least one of said plurality of monitoring components is a load sensor.  
   
   
       7 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 6  wherein said associated monitored livestock facility device is a livestock feed storage silo.  
   
   
       8 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  where said data communications network is a wireless communications network.  
   
   
       9 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein said control component is configured with a software application to utilize said received data to generate an indication of available feed supplies.  
   
   
       10 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein said control component is configured with a software application to utilize said received data to generate an indication of livestock health conditions from feed consumption.  
   
   
       11 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein said control component is configured with a software application to utilize said received data to generate an operational status indication of said associated monitored livestock facility device.  
   
   
       12 . A method for monitoring animal health in a livestock facility having at least one feed delivery system including a plurality of monitoring devices, comprising: 
 acquiring feed delivery data from the plurality of monitoring devices associated with the at least one feed delivery system;    communicating said acquired feed delivery data to a control system;    comparing, at said control system, said acquired feed delivery data with one or more predetermined parameters associated with animal health; and    providing an animal health status associated with said comparison of acquired feed delivery data and said predetermined parameters.    
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12  for monitoring animal health in a livestock facility wherein said at least one feed delivery system includes a livestock drinking water delivery system; and 
 wherein said acquired feed delivery data includes a measure of drinking water usage.    
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 12  for monitoring animal health in a livestock facility wherein the step of acquiring feed delivery data includes acquiring feed delivery data from at least one livestock drinking water delivery system and at least one livestock feed delivery system.  
   
   
       15 . A livestock facility equipment monitoring system for monitoring equipment in a livestock facility including a plurality of feed storage silos interconnected with an auger driven feed delivery mechanism, comprising: 
 at least one load sensor associated with each feed storage silo, each of said at least one load sensors configured to provide a signal corresponding to an amount of feed stored within said associated feed storage silo;    at least one activation sensor associated with the auger driven feed delivery mechanism, said activation sensor configured to provide a signal corresponding to an operational state of the auger driven feed delivery system;    a control component operatively coupled to each of said load sensors and said at least one activation sensor to receive said feed storage signals and said feed delivery mechanism operational state signal; and    wherein said control component is configured to utilize said received signals to monitor at least one predetermined parameter associated with the livestock facility.    
   
   
       16 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 5  wherein said control component is configured to utilize said received data to monitor a dispensation of feed from at least one feed storage silo through said feed delivery mechanism.  
   
   
       17 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 7  wherein said control component is configured to utilize said received data to monitor an addition of feed to at least one of said feed storage silo.  
   
   
       18 . The livestock facility equipment monitoring system of  claim 15  further including: 
 at least one flow sensor operatively coupled to a livestock water delivery system, said at least one flow sensor configured to provide a signal corresponding to a quantity of water dispensed through said livestock water delivery system; and    wherein said control component is operatively coupled to said at least one flow sensor to receive said water dispensation signal.    
   
   
       19 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein said control component is configured to utilize said received data to calculate at least one feed consumption trend.  
   
   
       20 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 19  wherein said control component is configured to compare said calculated at least one feed consumption trend with at least one predetermined feed consumption curve to identify a deviation exceeding a predetermined threshold.  
   
   
       21 . The livestock facility equipment monitoring system of  claim 15  wherein said control component is configured to generate an operator warning responsive to a feed delivery mechanism operational state signal indicating activation and each of said feed storage signals remaining unchanged.  
   
   
       22 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein said control component is configured to communicate with at least one external computer system via said data communications network.  
   
   
       23 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 22  wherein said data communications network Is the Internet.  
   
   
       24 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein said generated indication identifies an operational status of the livestock facility.  
   
   
       25 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein said generated indication identifies a level of feed supplies within the livestock facility.  
   
   
       26 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 1  wherein said generated indication identifies the overall health of livestock within the livestock facility.  
   
   
       27 . The livestock facility equipment monitoring system network of  claim 1  wherein said generated indication identifies an average amount of feed consumed over a predetermined period of time.  
   
   
       28 . The livestock facility equipment network of  claim 27  wherein control component is further configured to compare a current feed consumption measurement with said average feed consumption to identify a deviation.